Sagebrush personal blog about hiking
We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire… Give us the tools and we will finish the job.
Sir Winston Churchill, radio broadcast February 9, 1941
Here is the gear for my 2018 PCT thru-hike. Extended comments about particular items are at the end. I found a great deal of variation on equipment choices among hikers. Many small gear vendors are in healthy competition, with frequent innovations and design updates.
Continue reading “PCT 2018 Gear List”Main blade, nail file with screwdriver tip, scissors, tweezers, and toothpick: the Victorinox Classic SD Swiss Army Knife is a marvel of design in a lightweight form factor respected by long distance hikers. I do not really need the toothpick, though, so can something else go in that slot? The plastic toothpick is roughly 1.75 inches long x 0.12 inches wide x 0.047 inches thick.
FireSteel.com sells blank rods of ferrocerrium in various sizes, including the FireSteel Tiny, 1/8 x 2 inches, at less than US$1.00 per rod. 1/8 inch is close to the width of the toothpick, so we just need to grind down one side flat, grind down most of the opposite side to a thickness of 0.047 inches. We must leave a thick tip at one end as with the plastic toothpick, to allow fingers to remove the gadget from the handle of the knife.